You would probably be living under a rock if you don’t know who BTS are by now. The K-Pop sensation is known for breaking records worldwide with their dynamic entertainment style. The 7-member group can sing, rap, dance, direct and compose music, and earn their first-ever Grammy nomination on 24 November, making history, again.
Their nomination in the Best Pop Group/Duo category for their hit song ‘Dynamite’ is the first nomination for any K-Pop act in Grammy history, which was arguably long overdue. In recent years, the Recording Academy has come under fire for being biased towards artists of color, as fanbases have continuously pointed out the evident snubbing. This year, too, BTS gets just one nomination, passed for the well-deserved Record of the Year category, and The Weeknd getting completely shut out while artists like Justin Bieber getting nominated for ‘Yummy’ have attracted a lot of outrage online.
Dynamite, a blend of disco-synth and pop, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, stayed on top for 3 weeks and was also the most viewed music video premiere on YouTube. The group said that they composed the peppy song to lift their fans’ spirits during the trying times and nine weeks on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart along with 74.8 million streams seems to have accomplished exactly that.
The band rose to international fame in 2016 with the sleek Moombahton track called ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ and has ever since continued to put out music focusing on self-love, positivity and hope. Needless to say, their upbeat songs with heartfelt lyrics combined with great moves resonated with fans worldwide, making the septet an international phenomenon within a few years. This nomination cemented BTS’s status as a music icon and it is important for two reasons, the recognition of the Korean group’s talent on an internationally acclaimed platform and most importantly, the legacy they are leaving behind for a generation of kids of colour.
